


An ongoing skillset expansion

by Deviousness_Carter



Category: Treasure Planet (2002)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-07 22:16:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5472554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deviousness_Carter/pseuds/Deviousness_Carter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Amelia has a brief conversation with Sarah Hawkins.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An ongoing skillset expansion

**Author's Note:**

  * For [laurel_crown](https://archiveofourown.org/users/laurel_crown/gifts).



Captaincy had not, it turned out, been much in the way of decent preparation for motherhood. 

War, while tremendously awful and dangerous, hadn’t been quite so constant as four small children. There were downtimes in between naval battles at the very least, which was not something she could say for the more domestic variety. No one had given her any sort of medal yet, either.

“I do so wish they could talk, or at the very least understand speech directed at them,” Amelia said. She stared down at her small offspring, all nestled in their communal crib and felt the warmth of motherly love suffuse her body. This didn’t stop the frustration, however. Given what she knew of her current, more cognizant companion, the frustration was all quite normal.

“Well, trust me, when they can talk, you’ll be longing for the days when they were just warm little bundles you carried around,” Sarah Hawkins said. She reached out and stroked the young Mr. Doppler over his tiny cheek. “Speech quickly seems overrated when they learn how to use it to argue.”

“I’d take argument over incomprehensible crying,” Amelia said. The young Miss Doppler and her slightly younger sisters all then received their share of petting. “I’ve been told that I’m meant to know what to do. Instincts, supposedly.”

Mrs. Hawkins blew out air in a dismissive sort of huff. “Nope.”

“No? The midwife was very certain.”

“The midwife was being kind because you’d just had a very painful experience. Instincts don’t do anything for you, I’m afraid. It’s all trial and error, and if you’re like me, more error than anything,” Mrs. Hawkins said ruefully. She then played with the small holo-locket around her neck. Amelia looked across the room to the locket’s inspiration. Hawkins was currently engaged in some odd little game with a child of indeterminate origin, wherein the child poked incessantly at Hawkins’ uniform and Hawkins visibly restrained himself from reacting. The game was likely not entirely voluntary on Hawkins’ part.

“He’s turned out quite well, I must say,” Amelia offered.

“You weren’t here for the fun parts, Captain.”

No, Amelia certainly hadn’t been, but she had however seen the legal records of the “fun parts”. Recommending someone to the Naval Academy with a criminal record as long as Jim Hawkins’ had been somewhat trying, but well worth it to see the young man’s potential more fully filled. 

All the same, she would not be allowing her offspring to ever have quite that much fun.

“If between the four of them, they all have half as much youthful rebellion as I understand your son did, I think we’ll be well busy.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, my dear,” Doctor Doppler said, coming up to the table with two drinks in his hands. He offered one to Amelia and the other to Mrs. Hawkins.

Amelia took her drink --some variety of fruit punch she was unfamiliar with--, but Mrs. Hawkins waved hers away. “Thank you, Delbert, but I’m fine. Besides, I should be offering you two drinks. Possibly some of the strong stuff.”

Doctor Doppler sat down next to Amelia and sipped at the rejected drink while his free hand took Amelia’s. “Well, it hasn’t been quite so bad as you might imagine, Sarah. We, well, we have a schedule.”

“A schedule,” Mrs. Hawkins said with the same sort of muted amusement every mother so far had offered up upon learning of the order to which the children were kept, including Amelia’s own dear mater. “How’s that working out for you?”

“For us?” Amelia said. “Marvelously. The children don’t always agree with it, but I’m sure they’ll learn as they grow.” Amelia’s darling husband coughed. She squeezed his hand, partly in affection and partly in warning.

“Well...” he said anyway.

Mrs. Hawkins covered her mouth with one hand which allowed them all to pretend that she wasn’t laughing at them. “Oh?”

“Well, it’s not exactly perfect,” Doctor Doppler said. “There is... quite a lot of crying involved, I’m afraid.”

“It’s alright, Delbert. Babies do that.”

“Do parents? Normally?” he said with a desperate sort of squeak to his voice, and the charade was quickly falling apart.

Mrs. Hawkins gave them a sympathetic look and reached across the table to gently put one hand on the doctor’s arm. “Yes,” she said. “Crying is normal for parents too.”

“Oh, well, in that case, we are perfectly normal. Exceedingly normal, even.”

Amelia said, “Indeed. Look at that, Doctor. I did say we were doing well.”

“Yes, Captain. You certainly did. Repeatedly.”

“Well, one has to keep morale up,” Amelia said.

Mrs. Hawkins stopped pretending she wasn’t laughing, but while she was most definitely laughing at them, it wasn’t mean spirited. Amelia was grateful for that much. In the course of several weeks of insufficient sleep, she’d had to lower her standard for gratefulness.

“You know, if you need any sort of help,” Mrs. Hawkins began, only for Doctor Delbert to immediately squeak out, “Please.”

Amelia sighed. There was little shame in asking for reinforcements, but she had hoped they wouldn’t resort to begging for them just yet. “What my dear doctor means is, we’d be grateful for any kind of assistance or advice you might have to offer, Mrs. Hawkins.”

Mrs. Hawkins said, “I can babysit for a couple of hours, if that’s what you mean. Let you two have some time off.”

“Really? When?”

“That’s quite good of you to offer,” Amelia said, hope bubbling forth in her chest. She could very well be within sight of sleep. In a bed, even, and not on the floor of a nursery. “Do you mean this evening or--”

“Well,” Mrs. Hawkins said, and she waved around her establishment. “If what you’re looking for is some rest, you’re welcome to try here and now. In one the rooms, I mean. This party probably won’t wind down for a while. I let the new girl I hired bring out some of the ale.”

“Are you quite sure?” Amelia said, even as her husband stood up immediately and began to gently pull her towards the stairs leading up to the inn’s rooms. She had to admit her instincts, which were still more captainly than motherly were urging her to do the same. Retreat, repair, come back to fight another day.

“Go,” Mrs. Hawkins said firmly. “I’ll use your kids to help me cope with mine being so grown up tonight.”

Amelia sighed gratefully and with a quick glance towards her offspring --who almost certainly would be completely fine without her and in no kind of danger at all-- allowed her husband to pull her away and to the stairs. She could sleep and come back to the them soon enough. Better rested and better prepared.

As she fell asleep in a strange but comfortable bed next to her husband, Amelia idly began to plan out her maneuvers for the next morning. Captaincy had not been easy at first either, when she thought about it. But she had persisted in her naval career and would persist in this as well.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope this was in line with what you were looking for! I can't imagine jumping into parenthood with that many kids would be an easy start for anybody, but I'm sure they'll improve.
> 
> Okay, so I'm not entirely sure how, but I managed to not gift this to you, laurel_crown! I'm so sorry! this is definitely meant for you.


End file.
